Revolving spud line



y 1, 1953 B. F. BOWMAN 2,646,255

} REVOLVING SPUD LINE Filed Aug. 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR B. F. BOWMAN ATTORNEY July 21, 1953 B. F. BOWMAN 2,645,255

' REVOLVING SPUD LINE Filed Aug. 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR B. F. BOWMA N ATTORNEY means of Fig. 1..

Patented July 21, 1 953 'U NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE it 7 2,646,255 7 V REVOLVING SPUD-EINE Benjamin F. Bowman, Clarksburg, W. Va.-

Application August'29, 1951, SerialN o. 244,124

- popularity is due to quick, easy transportation and erection, rather than greater efficiency. In

fact it is doubtful that they will ever'attain quite the respect accorded the standard rigby many drillers. However; many of the present bottlenecks will be eliminated in time and an efforttoward this end is the objective of the revolving spud line described herein.

A further object of the revolving spud line of s-claims. (01. 255-11) to a revolving spud line v this invention is conservation of drilling cable which is relieved of constant wear on the crown pulley which many times has burned out the hemp core, causing the cable to-colla-pse;

'Still a further object of'thisinventionis to--pro--v vide a revolving spud line, sometimes known as ajerk 1ine, whereintliespud or jerk line is-ni'ad'e in the form of a very fine strand, very flexible wire cable endlessly looped about' a rotatable sheave on the spudder and passin'g' over a pulley is the spudder' I'6' so that its free end l 'i may reciprocate up and down as shown by the double ended arrow- 18 byany conventional crank and pitman power assemblyl'not shown).

The spudder I6 includes a sheave Zfirotatably mounted: thereon by means of a removable pivot 21 extending across a-sheave receiving slot 2a in a cross beam '23 pivotedly'secured at 24 at both ends between the spaced apart arms 25 at the end I! ofthe spudder l6.

Looped about the sheaveZflis the revolving spud line26 of this invention. From-the sheave 20, the line 26 passes up over a pair of spaced apart pulleys 2'! whichasshown may be suspended at 28 from the cross plate I lof the tubular mast l I and then passes-downwardlyover apair of spaced apart aligning pulleys3fl rotatab1ysup ported on brackets 31 from the lower cross plate I3, and then about" the sheave 32 0fla1'1 inverted pulley block 33 from which the spud is supported in the hole by means; of the: usual conventional temper screw and clamp assembly (not shown).

" correspondingly raise and lower the sheave supspudder'and the spud tothus distributethewear I throughout thespud line: and greatlylengthen the-life thereofinstead of having the wear con-.- centrated at any particular point or'points theree along.

Wit-lithe foregoing and other objects in view,

this invention comprises the, combination, con

The pulleys 21' serve to support thespud line 26 thereover while the sheaves serve to align the spud supporting pulley block 33 over the center line of the drilled hole. As'will be apparent, reciprocation of the spudder 5- about its bearing support 15' asshown by the doubled arrow laxwill porting block-337m thereby raise and lower the spud in the usual manner. All the pulleys or sheaves will preferably be equipped with antifriction roller or ball bearings and are constructed with thesingle block open feature to permit the threadingof the endless spud line 26, and

' such constructionv being conventional, need not be here described in detail.

, so that at the bottom of its reciprocation, a fric- Fig. 2 is a front view of the mast and supporting Fig. 3' is-a fragmentaryview' on line 3T3l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a topplan view of Fig. 3. and V Fig. 5 isa sectional View on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Thereis shown at It the'spu'dding mechanism of. a cable tool drill and includes a pair "of spaced apart tubular telescoping masts supported on a base [2 which may be portably'mounte'd' .ona Pivotedly supported on a stationary bearingf5" ,tionwheel 34 may enter into the recess and contact the spud line 26 thereon. This friction wheel 34 is providedwithafriction. periphery 35 having a contact surface" of'fiber or solid or pneumatic rubber or any suitable grippr-o'vidin'g surface. The friction wheel" 34 is mounted on a shaftfsii extending froma small electric" motor 3's atone end and into a suitable" bearing support 38 at the'other'end. The" motor 3'! and thebe aring support 38 are each adjustably mounted by an adjusting screw means'dllon a base 3'! supported on yieldab-le coil springs' l2 on a suitable foundation 43- .on the base i2. vIn operation, during drilling, the motor?! will-be kept constantly rotating, and as the spudder lfr reciprocatesup and down, the spud line or jerk 1ine26 passing about the sheave 28 will be brought into momentary or intermittent contact with the peripheral friction surface 35 of the friction wheel 34 and thus cause to revolve slightly about the various sheaves or pulleys on which it is supported as well as about the sheave 32 which supports the spud, This distributes the wear throughout the line 28 instead of permitting the wear to concentrate as with the present system where it passes over the crown block as well as other points under tension. As a result of the provision of the coiled supporting springs 42, the friction wheel 34 is yieldably mounted and the contact between the friction wheel and the spud line is not too rigid. By making the bases 4! adjustable by means of the adjusting screw 40 or other adjusting means, it is possible to conform with the desired drilling stroke, as well as to apply a little firmer contact as the depth of the well and the tension progressively increase. As the contact between the friction wheel 85 and the revolving spud line 26 is made at the very crest of the drilling stroke where tension is at a minimum, the line 25 should revolve easily. Obviously instead of the friction wheel periphery 35 contacting the line 26 to apply the revolution thereto, it could instead contact the sheave 2b to rotate the sheave and thus indirectly provide rotation to the line 23.

The essential feature of this invention is that instead of providing a single spud or jerk line between the spudder and the spud, this invention provides an endless looped revolving spud line and a means for intermittently revolving the line with each reciprocation of the spudder to thus distribute the wear throughout the line and greatly V lengthen the life thereof. The line 2E3 may preferably be made of a very fine strand of very flexible wire cable of /4 to /8 inch diameter and of a circumferential length of approximately 80 feet more or less for use in a cable tool drill which is otherwise of conventional construction.

While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes in detail and construction may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a revolving endless looped spud line connecting the reciprocating spudder to the reciprocating spud, the reciprocating spudder and the reciprocating spud each having a rotatable sheave about which said spud line is looped, and a rotating member making contact with said endless looped spud line to thereby revolve said spud line and distribute the wear thereover.

2. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a revolving endless looped spud line connecting the reciprocating spudder to the reciprocating spud, the reciprocating spudder and the reciprocating spud each having a rotatable sheave about which said spud line is looped, and a continuously rotating member in the path of reciprocation of said endless looped spud line making momentary connection to said spud line at each reciprocation thereof to thereby slightly revolve said spud line at each reciprocation and thus distribute the wear thereover. I

3. In the spudding mechanism or a cable tool drill, a revolving endless looped spud line connecting the reciprocating spudder to the reciprocating spud, the reciprocating spudder and the about which said spud line is looped, and means for revolving said spud line intermittently at each reciprocation of the spudder comprising a rotating friction wheel supported in the path of the rotatable sheave on said spudder and adapted to be contacted at each reciprocation of said spudder supported sheave to thereby impart intermittent revolution to said looped spud line to distribute the wear thereover.

4. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a revolving endless looped spud line connecting the reciprocating spudder to the reciprocating spud, the reciprocating spudder and the reciprocating spud each having a rotatable sheave about which said spud line is looped, and means for revolving said spud line intermittently at each reciprocation of the spudder comprising a rotating friction wheel yieldably supported in the path of the rotatable sheave on said spudder and adapted to be contacted at each reciprocation of said spudder supported sheave to thereby impart intermittent revolution to said looped spud line to distribute the wear thereover.

5. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a spud line comprising a flexible endless looped cable, an inverted spud supporting sheave and pulley block through which said cable is looped, a mast supported pulley system over which said cable is revolvably supported, a reciprocable spudder and a sheave rotatably supported thereon over which said cable is looped, whereby reciprocation of said spudder reciprocates said looped cable to thereby reciprocate saidspud supporting sheave and pulley block, and means for revolving said looped cable about its sheaves to thus distribute the wear thereon.

6. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a spud line comprising a flexible endless looped cable, an inverted spud supporting sheave and pulley block through which said cable is looped, a mast supported pulley system over which said cable is revolvably supported, a reciprocable spudder and a sheave rotatably supported thereon over which said cable is looped, whereby reciprocation of said spudder reciprocates said looped cable to thereby reciprocate said spud supporting sheave and pulley block, and means for revolving said looped cable aboutits sheaves at each reciprocation of said spudder comprising a rotating friction wheel supported in the path of said spudder supported sheave and cable loop thereon whereby said friction wheel will be contacted at each reciprocation of said spudder to thereby revolve said cable about its sheaves a slight amount and thus distribute the wear there- '7. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a spud line comprising a fine strand flexible endless loop wire cable, an inverted spud supporting sheave and pulley block through which said cable is looped, a mast supported pulley system over which said cable is revolvably supported, a reciprocable spudder and a sheave rotatably supported thereon over which said cable is looped, whereby reciprocation of said spudder reciprocates said looped cable to thereby reciprocate said spud supporting sheave and pulley block, and means for revolving said looped cable about its sheaves at each reciprocation of said spudder comprising a constantly rotating friction wheel yieldably supported in the path of said spudder supported sheave and cable loop thereon whereby said friction wheel will be contacted at each reciprocation of said spudder to thereby amount and thus distribute the wear thereon.

8. In the spudding mechanism of a cable tool drill, a spud line comprising a fine strand flexible endless looped wire cable, an inverted spud supporting sheave and pulley block through which said cable is looped, a mast supported pulley system over which said cable is revolvably supported, and a reclprocable spudder and a sheave rotatably supported thereon over which said cable is looped, whereby reciprocation of said spudder reciprocates said looped cable to thereby reciprocate said spud supporting sheave and pulley block, and means for revolving said looped cable about its sheaves at each reciprocation of said cable 100;) thereon whereby said friction wheel will be cont-acted at each reciprocation of said spudder to thereby revolve said cable about its sheaves a slight amount and thus distribute the wear thereon.

BENJAMIN F. BOWMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Numb-er Ayers Sept; 3, 1935 

